Fence-post.



' R. T. VAN VALKBNB FENCE P APPLICATION FILED 20, 1901.

no MODEL.

,PATENTED JULY'7,-1903. URG.

i i q,

UNITED STATEs' I atenteol July 7, 1903.

PATENT FFICE.

RANDALL T. VAN VALKENBURG, OF LAPORTE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WVILLIAM E. ORICI-ITON, OF LAPORTE, INDIANA.

FENCE-POST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 732,974, dated. July 7, 1903.

7 Application tiled ScptemberZO, 1901. Serial 110. 75,829. (No model.)

To all whom it concern.-

Be it known that I, RANDALL T. VAN VAL- KENBURG, a citizen of'the United States, re-

siding at Laporte, in the county of Laporte and Stateof Indiana, have invented certain character mentioned which will em bod y a construction having few parts and which will be durable and efficientin use.

A further object isto distribute the strain' falling upon the brace-rods sustaining the wire-stretchers and upon the upright or corner post.

With these and other objects in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination,

and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.

I have fully and clearly illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings,where- In- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a section of a fence and a corner-post embodying all the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the fence-post formed of a section of metal pipe or tubing bent substantially at right angles to form a vertical post a and a horizontal base portion a, said base portion being adapted to rest upon the surface of the ground or be secured upon a suitable foundation, as at b.

Extending diagonally from the top of the vertical post a to the end of the horizontal base portion a are inclined brace-beams B, bolted to each side of the base portion and the post to form a space 0 therebetween. In the diagonal beams 13 are provided alining bearings d, in which the journals 0 of the wire-winding reels 0 are mounted, said reels being disposed within the space between the diagonal brace-beams. These reels are provided with the usual paWl-and-ratchet mechanism to prevent unwinding of the line-Wires after they havebeen tightened.

To relieve the top of the vertical cornerpost a of the strain caused by the pulling of the wires upon the diagonal brace-beams B and to further strengthen the structure, so as to distribute the strain, I provide the bracerod D, which passes around the vertical post a and has its ends secured to the diagonal braces B by means of a bolt 6, which passes through the said braces. Upon this bolt is mounted a spanning sleeve or block f, which serves to maintain the space between the diagonal rods and prevent them from bending inward at their central portions, and thus binding upon the Wire-Winding reels 0 and preventing their free rotation.

In the angle formed by the intersection of the horizontal. brace-rod with the vertical post a is fitted a block g, which rests upon the upper edge of the horizontal brace-rod D and against the said post a and which serves as a bearing for the nuts h, threaded onto the upper ends of the anchor-rods E, and by'which the tension on said rods is regulated. These anchor-rods are provided at their lower ends with an anchor-plate F, which is'embedded in the ground or in a suitable foundation. The ends of the inclined brace-rods are anchored to the earth by means of the anchorrods G, and the upper ends of the said an chor-rods pass through a plate 1', placed upon the inclined brace-rods B and which forms a bearing for the nuts of the anchor-rods, which pass on either side of the inclined brace-beams. The anchor-rods G are provided at their lower ends with a spiral thread H, which adapts them to be readily anchored Without digging up the ground.

It will be seen that the anchor-rods E and G provide an adjustable tension device, as the ends of the said rods being screwethreaded the v tension may be adjusted by means of the nuts' h and is, threaded onto the said rods.

It is obvious from the above description, taken in connection with the drawings, that by my improved construction the burden of the strain exerted upon the inclined bracebeams by the tension of the wire is thrown beneath the intersection of the brace D with the upright a, thus compensating for the strain upon the upright above that point, and by the employment of the anchor-rods E and G and the base portion a the strain is distributed over the entire structure, which results in prolonging the life of the corner'post, which otherwise oftentimes becomes broken or dislodged from its true perpendicular position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a wire fence, of an anchor-post consisting of a metal tube bent at an angle to provide a base and an upright, inclined brace-beams connecting the upright and the base to afford a securing means for the line-wires of the fence, a horizontal brace connecting the inclined brace-beams and the upright, and anchoring devices, whereby the strain is distributed throughout the entire structure.

2. In an anchoring device for wire fences, the combination with an upright and the base formed of a metal tube bent at an angle, of inclined brace-beams secured to each side of the upright and the base portion, to leave a space therebetween, in which are journaled wire-stretching reels, a horizontal brace connected at one end to the inclined brace-beams at a point intermediate of their ends and at the other end to the upright, and anchoring devices connected with the upright and horizontal brace, and the inclined brace-beams.

3. An anchoring device for wire fences comprising an upright, a horizontal-base portion extending from the upright, inclined parallel brace-beams connected to the upright and the base portion and adapted to carry wirestretching appliances, a horizontal brace connecting the inclined brace-beams and the upright, a spanning-sleeve to maintain the inclined brace-beams in parallelism and anchoring devices to fix the said upright and base portion to a suitable foundation.

4,. An anchoring device for wire fences comprising an upright and base portion formed from a metal tube bent at an angle, inclined brace-beams extending from the upright to the base portion, wire-windin g reels journaled in the inclined brace-beams, a horizontal brace connecting the upright and the said inclined beams, an anchor-rod secured to the upright and the horizontal brace, and a second anchoring device secured to the base end of the inclined brace-beams, said anchoring device being provided with a spiral thread, arranged to be turned into the earth without disturbing the surface thereof.

In testimony whereof I aftix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RANDALL T. VAN VALKENBURG.

Witnesses:

HUGO OLTscH, MAGGIE OLTSOH. 

